FAO gives honours for good work

Every two years, FAO gives awards to recognize
exceptional achievements by individuals and projects in
the field of development. The most recent recipients
received their prizes this year during the Conference, the
Organization's governing body, which met at FAO headquarters
from 7 to 18 November.

The B.R. Sen Award for field work was presented to two
outstanding experts: forester Hon Tat Tang, a Malaysian
national, received the 1996 award for his work with the
South Pacific Forestry Development Programme, based in
Vanuatu; Les Clark of New Zealand was the 1997 award winner
for his contribution to the Namibian fisheries sector. The
Association of Food and Agriculture Journalists (AFAJ) in
Kenya and the Inter Press Service, a development news agency
based in Rome, were chosen as joint winners of the A.H.
Boerma Award for journalism. The Edouard Saouma Award for
institutional excellence was presented jointly to
Bangladesh's Department of Fisheries and to the Iranian
Agriculture Ministry's Infrastructure and Technical
Directorate.

Some of the award-winning individuals, associations and
field projects are profiled here.

Field
expert Les Clark

Les
Clark

1997 B.R. Sen Award

New Zealander Les Clark was instrumental in
successfully transforming the Namibian fisheries
sector from a largely foreign activity to one of
the country's key sectors fully integrated in the
Namibian society and economy. Mr Clark talks about
the ongoing project in Namibia. Interview

Association of
Food and Agriculture
Journalists

A.H. Boerma Award, co-winner

The Association of Food and Agriculture Journalists
(AFAJ) in Kenya is a professional journalists'
association devoted to the coverage of food,
agricultural and environmental issues. It launched
a campaign in 1996 to publicize the dangers of
water hyacinth in Lake Victoria. AFAJ Chairman
Alfred Omondi speaks about the association's work.
Interview

Alfred
Omondi

Roberto
Savio, IPS Director-General

Inter Press Service

A.H. Boerma Award, co-winner

Inter Press Service was founded in 1964 as a
non-profit non-governmental association of
journalists, mostly from the South, and a news
agency based in Rome specializing in issues of
interest to the South. Roberto Savio, one of the
agency's founders and its current Director-General,
talks about the changing nature of IPS coverage
over the past three decades. Interview

Bangladesh Department of
Fisheries

Edouard Saouma Award, co-winner

Bangladesh's Fisheries Department received the
Edouard Saouma Award for its implementation of a
project that improved rural pond-fish culture
extension services throughout the country.
Bangladesh's "Blue Revolution" led to a 50 percent
increase in aquaculture production thanks to a new
semi-intensive technology that uses locally
available feed ingredients and other inputs.
Profile